The number and frequency of product recalls is growing. This growth is resulting from a number of factors including regulatory changes, increasing product imports from countries with varying manufacturing standards, improved ability to identify the source of food borne illness outbreaks, heightened media coverage, and greater public sensitivity.
Industry's ability to remove recalled product from supply has not kept pace with the ability to enter and distribute product into the supply stream. The lack of value from removing product has prevented investment into this essential business function, resulting in a lack of ability to execute recalls expeditiously. Public health, brand equity, and legal liability are all potential casualties of deficient recall abilities. The threat of intentional contamination that could cause mass illness and death now compounds the normal business need for product removal.
Manufacturers of consumer products at times find that products in distribution for sale need to be removed from sale and recovered to protect their brand, safeguard the public's health, or to comply with government regulations. The business methods employed to remove and recover product vary widely within and across industries.
A standardized method for notification, removal, and verification of product from distribution is desirable to provide numerous efficiencies and advantages to all segments of industry, as well as to the public and regulatory agencies. Existing, and even emerging methods to accomplish a recall of product from distribution currently lack a comprehensive capability. Existing recall mechanisms generally focus on point-to-point notification to specific segments of business or the public impacted by a product recall. These existing mechanisms are generally insufficient solutions for businesses seeking to protect their brand and their customers from the often devastating consequences of product recall.
As an example, the prior art describes recall mechanisms that identify customers of recalled products, broadcast advisory alerts to subscribers, allow manufacturers to enter advisories related to product defects, and identify defects in products that may lead to recalls. However, there is a need in the prior art of a method for communicating, tracking, and verifying the specific actions commonly related to product recalls across all affected stakeholders that goes beyond mere notifications of recalled products.